Ratko Mladic in Serbian court for extradition proceedings

Appearances are deceptive. He might have worn a silly hat, but Ratko Mladic was responsible for the death of thousands of civilians.

Former Bosian Serb army chief, Ratko Mladic has appeared in a Serbian court only hours after being arrested following 16 years in hiding.

Authorities are wanting to extradite Mladic to stand trial at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

The hearing process is expected to take a week. Mladic’s initial court appearence was cut short when his lawyers managed to get proceeding ajourned pending him getting a medical examination.

His lawyer, Milos Saljic, told reporters the judge had attempted to question General Mladic but the suspect was in a “difficult psychological and physical condition”, and was unable to communicate.

Mladic faces multiple charges including genocide for the Srebrenica massacre in 1995 where thousands of Bosian muslim men and boys were murdered.

Many in Serbia see Mladic as a hero and it is widely believed that the Serbian government have known of his whereabouts for some time.

But politics has overcome sentiment. Serbia has long been blocked form European Union membership on the grounds that known war criminals have not been brought to justice.

The EU is considering Serbia’s position at the moment and the arrest of Mladic is certainly going to help their cause.

Even if it is only politics and a Serbian desire to be in the EU that has prompted Mladic’s arrest, the important thing is that he will face justice.

Not the kind of justice that he delivered to thousands of innocent civilians, but at least he will be held to account.

With the drawn out circus that was the Milosevic and Karadzic trials there are many who think that the Bin Laden ‘solution’ is a far more effective way of dealing with mass muderers. [ad#Queryads Top Right Horizontal Banner][ad#Queryads Top Right Horizontal Banner]